At the time, we all figured it would be a nice way for Martin to read books while serving in the Peace Corps Nicaragua on the Caribbean coast. But what we didn’t know at the time was exactly how indispensable it would be to him as he lived in a town so small that it barely has a Wikipedia entry. It turns out that this little, relatively cheap device has been a godsend for him in 2012, with its worldwide 3G Internet. Even though Martin lives in a remote area, I hear from him nearly every day by e-mail.

"Most of my e-mails I write on my Kindle," he told me recently (by cell phone this time). "I use it to stay in touch with friends, even [through] Facebook. The Kindle’s not fantastic by any means, but I can read my e-mail reliably. It loads within a minute. Even with a 3G [USB modem] stick, [service] came in and out—I gave the modem away."

Sure, the Kindle’s browser is a bit kludgy. In fact, it’s hidden away under its "Experimental" features. It can’t open more than one tab at a time, and you can forget about attachments. Any online heavy-lifting requires Martin to pop down to the local Internet café, which is subject to its own power and Internet outages from time to time. He can’t even accept an Amazon e-book I sent him—he has to click a link from within his e-mail, and again, the browser can’t handle opening new links. (Editor's note: C’mon Amazon! Shouldn’t I be able to send e-books directly to his Kindle?)

But as any Kindle-owner will tell you, its worldwide 3G access is valuable. Perhaps even more importantly, the battery life is great. This can be hugely important in its own right when living in a part of the world subject to power outages, or while on the road, where power plugs may be few and far between.

"Usually I go two or two-and-a-half days (without charging it), sometimes three days if I’m not going crazy on it," Martin added. "The battery is pretty respectable."

In these ways, the Kindle helps Martin with the fundamental problem of staying wired while in a remote area. There are essentially two main issues that you have to deal with in these situations—electrical power and data connection. The latter may be rapidly improving throughout the world, but either can rear its head at almost any point.

After consulting with Martin, as well as a number of other savvy travelers who spend much of their time bouncing between worksites and WiFi hotspots in remote areas of the world, we’ve come up with a short list of small items designed to keep you powered and connected without breaking your wallet (or your already overloaded backpack). Sure, your goal in traveling may be to get away from the always-on lifestyle—but there are those of us that choose to stay connected, or have to because of our chosen professions.

With that in mind, we bring you 10 items that will make your time out in the bush a little bit more bearable. And we didn't select just any 10 items. If you find yourself acquiring everything on this Ars list, you'll spend under $500 (even less if you get an external battery instead of Item No. 2).

The only stipulation we used when compiling: we’re assuming readers are going to bring at least an unlocked 3G smartphone on their travels. You're versed on swapping SIMs to get the best mobile data rate when you get to a new country, right? That iPhone or Android handset can create an invaluable WiFi hotspot for your tablet or laptop after all.

Enlarge/ Voltaic makes rugged, portable solar panels designed to fit over any pack.

Hannu Makarainen

Power, power, everywhere

Beyond the Kindle (Item No. 1—$140), let’s move on to the most important item on the list: power! Sure, you may run into a rural charging station running off of a car battery, but what if you find yourself on a long cross-country bus trip for the bulk of a day?

Enter the Voltaic OffGrid Solar Backpack(Item No. 2—$230), which is almost twice as costly as the Kindle 3G. As the name suggests, this backpack can charge your devices while you walk around. It sports a pair of 2W solar panels, which the company says are "waterproof, lightweight, and built to withstand abuse." These can output 6 or 12 Volts (depending on the selected application). Translated for those of us who aren’t electrical engineers, that means about four to five hours to fully charge a phone, but with a noticeable boost after an hour or two.

The backpack also has a built-in (and removable) battery that can store 3,000mAh of power from the solar panels, or be plugged into AC or DC power, then discharge it via a USB cable. Voltaic even offers discounts for Peace Corps volunteers. If you don’t want to buy a whole backpack, you can get the V11 USB Battery Pack and a two watt solar panel for just $60—similar to the Mophie JuicePack ($80), which our own Jacqui Cheng swore by earlier this summer.

"The utility of having a solar backpack became even more clear to me when, in December 2007, I was stuck in Eldoret, one of the flash points of post-election violence," wrote Juliana Rotich, a Senior TED Fellow and the executive director of Ushahidi, in an e-mail to Ars.

"I had no access to electricity where I was staying and was very dependent on my smartphone to get online and get news," she added. "With a 5V output, I was able to not only charge my own phone, but also the phones of my family members. It was invaluable, and I still travel with my Voltaic backpack whenever I go to the Kenyan countryside."

That backpack looks sweet! I really could see myself using something like that too keep my phone and or PS Vita charged. As I always find my self hiking up to some remote lake or stream in the back country of Montana in the summer in search of that perfect camping / fly fishing spot.

For Solar Charging, at half the cost, that uses rechargeable & user replaceable AA batteries (or AAA if you need/prefer with adapter) for battery pack, I suggest http://www.goalzero.com/small-guide.html

My significant other bought me Goal Zero last Xmas, she knew it was on my list of items, I have been real happy with it so far.

For lights, I suggest either Fenix E05 for AAA http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=152 I bought my SO a purple E05 last year as a gift, she has used it at least once when shopping and power went out in whole store, in addition to normal daily/weekly uses.

Though you really can't go wrong with a Fenix flashlight, they offer both clicky & twisty models, for me I prefer single light output for primary flashlight, but high beam + low beam light for 2nd flashlight is extremely useful.

The past two years I've been on cycling trips during the summer. Although I didn't stray far from civilization (hard to do in the Netherlands!) that meant no easy access to power. I looked into solar for charging my iPhone, but all I saw were bad reviews. So I doubt that backpack is very useful in practice.

What would be really useful is a tiny little steam turbine with USB out that you can put on your burner after making coffee. Until we get those, the Biolite Campstove is the next best thing.

If you're on a bicycle you might want to consider an add-on charging device for your bicycle. A device that's cheap and is out of your way - your backpack. While you're on your bicycle it charges up your electronic gears, phone and notebook, rechargeable batteries for your flashlight, etc. I know, solar panel is easier, but it add additional weights to your backpack, and it breaks, something you want very much to avoid, is weights. I see the guy has some nice clothing in his cloth rack. Are those a must have items in a jungle setting? Too fancy for me. :-) When I was traveling in Asia, 2 T-shirts and 2 pairs of shorts was all I had. Wash-and-wear type. No socks, just a pair of saddles. Something I missed when I was back in the state.

For Solar Charging, at half the cost, that uses rechargeable & user replaceable AA batteries (or AAA if you need/prefer with adapter) for battery pack, I suggest http://www.goalzero.com/small-guide.html

I was also going to mention Goal Zero. I went bigger and got the Escape 150 power pack (150 watt hours, includes 12V, USB, and 110V outputs with an inverter built-in) and Nomad 27 folding solar panel (27 watt, 3 lbs). I used it as my sole power source for a week. Very pleased. They also make some more compact stuff (larger, too).

hum, more and more are services like Netflix and hulu do a more and more efficient geo IP whitelisting, if your IP doesn't belong to a major american company (work) or known american ISP (comcast, AT&T, verizon, even smaller ones like Endeavor or Metronet who get their back-end from bigger ISPs anyway), the websites just show you the finger with an error page and tell you to contact them if 'this is in error' for you to prove to them that you're actually in U.S. territories.Simply getting a VPN with exit-gateways within the U.S. doesn't generally fly anymore.

That dude in the photo needs to adjust his handlebars. The brake levers and the bar ends are pointing up.

the brakes are in their usual place, and bar ends are designed to be used in any orientation - whatever is most comfortable for the rider.. the whole point is a different/more comfortable position for long rides, or leverage on a climb. these are configured for distance.

My definition "off the grid" lacks not only power grid, but cell phone networks as well. So if there is cell access, it is not really "off grid".

I have spent time off the grid in Baja California (near Loreto). There was no cell phone signal, and no power. If you wanted to make a call, you needed to use satellite phone. I did not make any sat phone calls, but I did charge my iPhone 3GS and camera batteries using 20W PowerFilm folding solar panel. 20W panel in direcgt sunlight gives enough juice to charge an iPhone and a small battery (I used Targus Mobile Laptop Charger APD80US to convert ~12V coming from panel to 5V needed for USB). For bigger devices like my laptop (Lenovo X220) I use 60W panel, which charges laptop in direct mid day sunlight.

So as interesting as the Voltaic backpack looks, with 4W max output, it does not have enough capacity to charge 5V 1A USB device directly. The best it can do is to trickle charge internal battery (extra weight) and for optimal charging panels must be facing the sun, so forget about efficient charging while walking and panels not facing toward the sun.

For cycling, I thought about charging using solar as well when I traveled Pacific Coast Highway for San Fran to L.A., but the weather there is too foggy for 20W solar to work efficiently, and there is enough power at the campsites along the way to make it a non issue. If you want to charge your GPS/iPhone I would recommend a dynamo hub as it is much more reliable. I used Schmidt SON with E-Werk by Busch & Muller.

I have traveled in Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok and only brought my iPhone and couple cameras with me. I was able to charge them all using Lifetrons power plug adapter with 2 USB ports (picked it up in Thailand couple years back). On different trains power output in the plugs varied a lot - from 48V to 220V. I was able to get enough juice for 5V USB plugs every time, while many travelers with external 220V to USB adapters would not. Cell phone signal was great too - I bought prepaid MTS card in Moscow for ~500 rubles, and had unlimited internet for a month. In bigger cities it was 3G, EDGE in smaller towns, even GPRS in some spots. But even in vastness of Siberia I did not feel cut off. Skype was great for voice too, I could call SoCal from Olchon island in Lake Baikal, the signal was clear.

Happy travels and happy charging!

P.S. I have 3G Kindle too, and had it on my trips, and while email does work in a pinch (mobile yahoo site) sometimes it refuses to let me log on and is a drag. I would rather pay $20 for month of data for my iPhone than keep fighting with Kindle 3G. As e-reader though, it is very good, but I started to prefer audio books which I listen on my iPhone again. Next time I would bring my X220 and leave Kindle 3G at home, it would have been nice to have a laptop to get some real work done.

Don't be absurd,a colt .45 is all well and good,but for those money you can get a decent-condition AKS-47 or AKMS

But seriously, for an article about 'tech in the wild' (If it was really off the grid,I reaaaaaaally doubt a person's first need to be a 3G Kindle or a VPN service to watch Hulu) it's been a pretty lame - where are the rugged Laptops (ie Toughbook), the satellite phones/internet modems, the mini generators (the 4W backpack is cute and all,but I prefer a 1kW portable 10 kg generator).

"Off grid" my ass. If you can email cousin Dot, you're not off grid. If you're worried about your daily power consumption, you're just a wee bit too wired to say you're off grid.

My #1 off-grid piece of hardware is a Spot. I keep it in my jacket pocket when I'm offroading or hiking outside cel range. If i prong the bike and am lying there with a broken leg, I can push a button and rescue crews will come for me, 100 km from Vancouver or 100 km from Kuala Lumpur. Runs on (old school, non-rechargeable, massive shellf-life) lithium batteries, so I push the power button, wait 3 seconds for the device to initialise, then push the "oh, shit" button.

#2 is a bush knife. #3 is a good pair of shoes. Somewhere down around about #10 is my next piece of electronics, an LED flashlight. Yes, there's a gun on the list My smartphone is someplace rather far after the flashlight. Why yes, I've been to the middle of fucking nowhere and know where my towel is

"Off grid" my ass. If you can email cousin Dot, you're not off grid. If you're worried about your daily power consumption, you're just a wee bit too wired to say you're off grid.

My #1 off-grid piece of hardware is a Spot. I keep it in my jacket pocket when I'm offroading or hiking outside cel range. If i prong the bike and am lying there with a broken leg, I can push a button and rescue crews will come for me, 100 km from Vancouver or 100 km from Kuala Lumpur. Runs on (old school, non-rechargeable, massive shellf-life) lithium batteries, so I push the power button, wait 3 seconds for the device to initialise, then push the "oh, shit" button.

#2 is a bush knife. #3 is a good pair of shoes. Somewhere down around about #10 is my next piece of electronics, an LED flashlight. Yes, there's a gun on the list My smartphone is someplace rather far after the flashlight. Why yes, I've been to the middle of fucking nowhere and know where my towel is

@GrendelMk1 - Apparently off-grid is a contextual synonym to "outside the hotel's free WiFi".Afterall,look at some of the suggestions on the list - An inflatable lantern, a VPN service, a wall plug if you're in the nightmare scenario "when your guest house only has one plug", a 3.5mm splitter, a key-shaped flash drive.Hell,the only really good suggestion in the whole article is the Nokia, because those phones are practically indestructible, have insane stand-by times and get good reception in low signal areas (I have 1 of those charged SIM-less in my car's glove box 'just in case',especially on long drives during the winter)

@ManicMiner True that,but the problem is that those kids will quickly add to the undead horde and .. there's just so many walkers a guy can pop before it starts to get old XD

By the way,mr Farivar, if you "really" have to have a USB drive on you when you are out (and tbh,you don't) - a far better choice are those swiss army knives with a built-in drive.. At least those can be used for more than cluttering your keyring

Why people need to have outside contacts such as e-mail friends when they are "off the grid"? Loneliness, that is. You can't stand it when there's no one to talk to when "off the grid", right?

Seriously people, the only time when I'm off road (have never been off the grid) or take a short trip up the mountain for a few weeks in Asia is to bring along a female companion with me. There are lots of good suggestions on this comment thread, but a good companion have never been brought up to this discussion. Listen up, guys and girls, when those days come for an "off the grid" trip, for the guys, take along your girlfriend with you, and for the girls, take your boyfriends along. When you've got your dear companions with you, who needs phones? When you just "reach out and touch someone"?

Well maybe the only thing other than a companion or two with me would be a notebook and or a tablet, either or, or have both with you. You may have both, they are not that expensive nowadays. But back in those days in 2007 there weren't any tablets out yet. So other than that, screw everything. And you think I'm kidding? Last time I was high up in the mountain in Asia, I had a legal size pocket knife with me, gun were off the limit in some Asian countries. So check your local laws before you risk some unpleasant prison times. No, the knife was not to protect myself, it's to protect my girlfriend.

My definition "off the grid" lacks not only power grid, but cell phone networks as well. So if there is cell access, it is not really "off grid".

Well, that's cute and all, but that doesn't seem to be what people usually mean by "off the grid". There are people in USA (and elsewhere) living "off the grid", and it means that their homes are not connected to the national power-grid, but they generate their own power.

For Solar Charging, at half the cost, that uses rechargeable & user replaceable AA batteries (or AAA if you need/prefer with adapter) for battery pack, I suggest http://www.goalzero.com/small-guide.html

My significant other bought me Goal Zero last Xmas, she knew it was on my list of items, I have been real happy with it so far.

For lights, I suggest either Fenix E05 for AAA http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=152 I bought my SO a purple E05 last year as a gift, she has used it at least once when shopping and power went out in whole store, in addition to normal daily/weekly uses.

Though you really can't go wrong with a Fenix flashlight, they offer both clicky & twisty models, for me I prefer single light output for primary flashlight, but high beam + low beam light for 2nd flashlight is extremely useful.

I would check out ledlenser instead. Same output but far better life time.

Right, sorry, I didn't realise this was an article for the fsking incompetent and pathetic. Want to bet that these are the same people that wouldn't know how to start a chainsaw to clear a deadfall of the road they're currently on? Never mind actually clearing a deadfall without worrying that an unexpected kickback will cut their face in half because they don't know how to actually work a basic power tool.

Sure, I come off harsh. But, I offroad wher only satellites can see me for fun, hike even deeper, and I'm a Construction Safety Officer, so I've seen ALL the power-tool fuckups.

Let me tell you what "off-grid" comms looks like.

You tow a trailer with you to the rigsite. The trailer plugs into the motor room for power, because it eats several kilowatts. You THINK you know satellite internet, but you don't. See, ours uses a satellite UPLINK, requiring a couple of kilowatts to speak to a sat in geosynch.

None of this landline bullshit. There AREN'T any landlines. Cel is limited to that one spot in the curve of the north Petitot where you do the signal dance on the high spot after sacrificing a virgin, and we're shy of virgins. We need reliable commo, so we put our trailer on the north edge of the lease facing south and use that every time we're not roaming.

For dire emergencies, since I'm the medic, I pack an Iridium phone and hope that I've got a line on the sats. Sounds basic until you realise how far north we are. A decent bump in the ground means I need to either climb it or drive sideways.

Oh, and did I mention how to tap forestry's repeater network when you're not forestry? They'll hang your ass from the nearest yardarm, unless it's an emergency. Then you're cool.

I'm betting this all gets a whole lot worse when you're someplace in Africa.

You're not even CLOSE to off-grid useful with this article. Where's the satcomms, the rescue beacons, et al?

$60 for a 2W weatherproof solar panel and 3Ah battery is pretty amazing. My iPhone is a great navigation tool for bike touring, but the one massive downside is battery life when using data and GPS. The solar panel could easily be mounted on my rear rack to charge up during the day, with the power transferred to the iPhone at night.

I'm really impressed by the price drop - a few years back I looked into solutions for doing this and everything commercial was in the hundreds of dollars, and even a homebuilt system was more expensive than this just for the parts.

"Off grid" my ass. If you can email cousin Dot, you're not off grid. If you're worried about your daily power consumption, you're just a wee bit too wired to say you're off grid.

Off grid != Remote

Even rural africa has nowadays workable cell-coverage (but no phone lines or electrical or water supplies!). In the year 2012, it far IS easier to have cell coverage than usable electrical supply throughout the world. So "off-grid" means exactly that: Off of a reliable national electrical power grid.

"Off grid" my ass. If you can email cousin Dot, you're not off grid. If you're worried about your daily power consumption, you're just a wee bit too wired to say you're off grid.

Off grid != Remote

Even rural africa has nowadays workable cell-coverage <et cetera>

Bullshit. If there's cel signal, you're not off-grid, as witnessed by the rather prolific manners in which one can charge a smartphone without plugging it into a wall. Shit, son, you telling me that I was off-grid in Yosemite because I used my bike's accessory plug to charge my phone due to the dearth of ready AC outlets?

Offgrid DOES equal remote, hard to use your "standard" gear. If I can make a fucking phone call on my Galaxy III that I've been charging off my GS, I'm not off-grid. If I am offgrid in that case, then a lot of the continental US is off-grid. For that matter, I ran into an awful lot of space in the US where a powered cel phone saw no signal at all.

Suck it up, buttercup. What you THINK is inconvenient and "offgrid" is barely a bump for most of the rest of us.

Right, sorry, I didn't realise this was an article for the fsking incompetent and pathetic. Want to bet that these are the same people that wouldn't know how to start a chainsaw to clear a deadfall of the road they're currently on? Never mind actually clearing a deadfall without worrying that an unexpected kickback will cut their face in half because they don't know how to actually work a basic power tool.

Sure, I come off harsh. But, I offroad wher only satellites can see me for fun, hike even deeper, and I'm a Construction Safety Officer, so I've seen ALL the power-tool fuckups.

Let me tell you what "off-grid" comms looks like.

You tow a trailer with you to the rigsite. The trailer plugs into the motor room for power, because it eats several kilowatts. You THINK you know satellite internet, but you don't. See, ours uses a satellite UPLINK, requiring a couple of kilowatts to speak to a sat in geosynch.

None of this landline bullshit. There AREN'T any landlines. Cel is limited to that one spot in the curve of the north Petitot where you do the signal dance on the high spot after sacrificing a virgin, and we're shy of virgins. We need reliable commo, so we put our trailer on the north edge of the lease facing south and use that every time we're not roaming.

For dire emergencies, since I'm the medic, I pack an Iridium phone and hope that I've got a line on the sats. Sounds basic until you realise how far north we are. A decent bump in the ground means I need to either climb it or drive sideways.

Oh, and did I mention how to tap forestry's repeater network when you're not forestry? They'll hang your ass from the nearest yardarm, unless it's an emergency. Then you're cool.

I'm betting this all gets a whole lot worse when you're someplace in Africa.

You're not even CLOSE to off-grid useful with this article. Where's the satcomms, the rescue beacons, et al?

Given the quality and scope of such 'guides' published by Ars lately(I'm still angry for the holiday 2011 gift guide,where I got banned for asking if there's something for non-apple users because only 3 or 4 things outta like 30 were iGifts),you're well within your right to be 'harsh'. By the way, is the part about "you know satellite internet" bit aimed at me or the Ars article (Just curious),because if it was.. well I'll gladly concede that my working knowledge of sat internet pretty much ends with how to setup and use a Hughes 9202 BGAN terminal (and to be honest,that puppy doesn't exactly consume kW's o' juice.. But then again,it's hardly mission critical).

I took a set of garden lawn-lights and ripped out the 600 mAh NiMH AA batteries in them, replacing them with a HTC BatteryBank, with about 2,500 mAh of Lithium-Ion goodness and a regulated USB port for charging.

Granted it takes two or three days to actually charge the entire thing but the sheer utility during camping trips is awesome. And it cost <£20.

If I like, I can just remove the batterybank and have a good full charge for my phone, or a half charge for my Nexus 7 in a small pocket.

Right, sorry, I didn't realise this was an article for the fsking incompetent and pathetic. Want to bet that these are the same people that wouldn't know how to start a chainsaw to clear a deadfall of the road they're currently on? Never mind actually clearing a deadfall without worrying that an unexpected kickback will cut their face in half because they don't know how to actually work a basic power tool.

Sure, I come off harsh. But, I offroad wher only satellites can see me for fun, hike even deeper, and I'm a Construction Safety Officer, so I've seen ALL the power-tool fuckups.

Let me tell you what "off-grid" comms looks like.

You tow a trailer with you to the rigsite. The trailer plugs into the motor room for power, because it eats several kilowatts. You THINK you know satellite internet, but you don't. See, ours uses a satellite UPLINK, requiring a couple of kilowatts to speak to a sat in geosynch.

None of this landline bullshit. There AREN'T any landlines. Cel is limited to that one spot in the curve of the north Petitot where you do the signal dance on the high spot after sacrificing a virgin, and we're shy of virgins. We need reliable commo, so we put our trailer on the north edge of the lease facing south and use that every time we're not roaming.

For dire emergencies, since I'm the medic, I pack an Iridium phone and hope that I've got a line on the sats. Sounds basic until you realise how far north we are. A decent bump in the ground means I need to either climb it or drive sideways.

Oh, and did I mention how to tap forestry's repeater network when you're not forestry? They'll hang your ass from the nearest yardarm, unless it's an emergency. Then you're cool.

I'm betting this all gets a whole lot worse when you're someplace in Africa.

You're not even CLOSE to off-grid useful with this article. Where's the satcomms, the rescue beacons, et al?

Given the quality and scope of such 'guides' published by Ars lately(I'm still angry for the holiday 2011 gift guide,where I got banned for asking if there's something for non-apple users because only 3 or 4 things outta like 30 were iGifts),you're well within your right to be 'harsh'. By the way, is the part about "you know satellite internet" bit aimed at me or the Ars article (Just curious),because if it was.. well I'll gladly concede that my working knowledge of sat internet pretty much ends with how to setup and use a Hughes 9202 BGAN terminal (and to be honest,that puppy doesn't exactly consume kW's o' juice.. But then again,it's hardly mission critical).

Aimed at Ars, not you. And I'm with you as far as being pissy about the quality of guide lately. This one, being aimed squarely at where I live (so to speak) is especially annoying to me.

Right, sorry, I didn't realise this was an article for the fsking incompetent and pathetic. Want to bet that these are the same people that wouldn't know how to start a chainsaw to clear a deadfall of the road they're currently on? Never mind actually clearing a deadfall without worrying that an unexpected kickback will cut their face in half because they don't know how to actually work a basic power tool.

Sure, I come off harsh. But, I offroad wher only satellites can see me for fun, hike even deeper, and I'm a Construction Safety Officer, so I've seen ALL the power-tool fuckups.

Let me tell you what "off-grid" comms looks like.

You tow a trailer with you to the rigsite. The trailer plugs into the motor room for power, because it eats several kilowatts. You THINK you know satellite internet, but you don't. See, ours uses a satellite UPLINK, requiring a couple of kilowatts to speak to a sat in geosynch.

None of this landline bullshit. There AREN'T any landlines. Cel is limited to that one spot in the curve of the north Petitot where you do the signal dance on the high spot after sacrificing a virgin, and we're shy of virgins. We need reliable commo, so we put our trailer on the north edge of the lease facing south and use that every time we're not roaming.

For dire emergencies, since I'm the medic, I pack an Iridium phone and hope that I've got a line on the sats. Sounds basic until you realise how far north we are. A decent bump in the ground means I need to either climb it or drive sideways.

Oh, and did I mention how to tap forestry's repeater network when you're not forestry? They'll hang your ass from the nearest yardarm, unless it's an emergency. Then you're cool.

I'm betting this all gets a whole lot worse when you're someplace in Africa.

You're not even CLOSE to off-grid useful with this article. Where's the satcomms, the rescue beacons, et al?

Given the quality and scope of such 'guides' published by Ars lately(I'm still angry for the holiday 2011 gift guide,where I got banned for asking if there's something for non-apple users because only 3 or 4 things outta like 30 were iGifts),you're well within your right to be 'harsh'. By the way, is the part about "you know satellite internet" bit aimed at me or the Ars article (Just curious),because if it was.. well I'll gladly concede that my working knowledge of sat internet pretty much ends with how to setup and use a Hughes 9202 BGAN terminal (and to be honest,that puppy doesn't exactly consume kW's o' juice.. But then again,it's hardly mission critical).

Aimed at Ars, not you. And I'm with you as far as being pissy about the quality of guide lately. This one, being aimed squarely at where I live (so to speak) is especially annoying to me.

It's crap, and someone should be ashamed.

Ars has been going in the apple fansite direction with corresponding drop in quality and dumbing down of articles. You should write up something and post here since you obviously do have the experience while most of us don't even think about such things (I had no idea that a thing like Spot even existed).

[quote="grendelmk1"Aimed at Ars, not you. And I'm with you as far as being pissy about the quality of guide lately. This one, being aimed squarely at where I live (so to speak) is especially annoying to me.

It's crap, and someone should be ashamed.[/quote]

Ars has been going in the apple fansite direction with corresponding drop in quality and dumbing down of articles. You should write up something and post here since you obviously do have the experience while most of us don't even think about such things (I had no idea that a thing like Spot even existed).[/quote]@Grendel Ah,cool. And by the way - why clear deadfalls with a chainsaw when you can have so much more fun using a jeep and a heavy-duty winch @Grendel & AxMi-24 I don't really mind that they are unashamed Apple fans - it's their personal choice (and lord knows how many people share that), but I do think they should at least try to remember that there are people out there that just don't give flying frak about iProducts(and to be honest - a significant chunk of those are techies). By the way,another shining example of journalism from a couple months back was a headline "Confirmed: Flame created by US and Israel to slow Iranian nuke program" citing a news piece without a single named/confirmed source..

Ars has been going in the apple fansite direction with corresponding drop in quality and dumbing down of articles. You should write up something and post here since you obviously do have the experience while most of us don't even think about such things (I had no idea that a thing like Spot even existed).

Umm, Ax, do you realise who you're asking this of?

Now, I'm not willing to paint Ars with the Apple Fanboi brush, but I'll for damn sure call out the schmuck that wrote this for not bothering to find someone to ask what it looks like when you're trying to use your hardware someplace unusual.

Bet he doesn't know that Spot has a (very expensive) model that's a satcomms hotspot for anything you care to tether to it, meaning you can make your Iphone , Android or whatever into a satphone in one easy but expensive step. Hell, my base-model Spot is able to transmit position updates to Google maps every 10 minutes if I happen to decide it's worth the energy budget, and it's got a "mail" button that's basically a 1-bit trigger that makes the Spot service send a predefined message to whoever you like. Oh, and they sell an insurance policy for places that don't have regular rescue services, draw your own conclusions from that one.

And that's just one piece of hardware. I'm betting there's a whole world of crap I've never seen that a motivated civilian could get ahold of, too.